While construction of the Museum's expanded campus continues, the additional gallery space it will provide has already given curators the opportunity to rethink the way the Museum's world-class collections, which include more than 33,000 works of art, are installed. Since 2011, more than 1,450 works have been reinstalled in the Main Building, including 55 works that have either never been on view or have not been on view in over a decade. Twenty-nine recent acquisitions are also featured in the reconceived galleries, adding depth to the Museum's permanent collection.

Giving over three galleries to 18th century Europe was a good opportunity to showcase the strength of our collection in that area. The reinstallation is divided into four themes: The Grand Tour in the 18th Century, Court and Society in the 18th Century, Life, Style, and Collecting in the 18th Century, and Religious Art and the Church in the 18th Century.

–Judith Mann, Curator of European Art to 1800

The new reinstallation allows us to put 30% more of the modern art collection on view and really highlight the strength of the Museum's holdings. The galleries are arranged, for the first time, around particular themes and concepts.

The most significant change in this iteration of the American Highlights galleries is the expanded presentation of 19th-century paintings and sculpture. With the additional space, we are able to show more masterworks by George Caleb Bingham, more Western subjects, and works American artists completed while traveling or living in Europe.

For some years I have been thinking about programming one of our small Decorative Arts Galleries for changing, thematic installations from the collection, and have wanted to create an introductory gallery for visitors who may be unfamiliar with decorative arts and design. A new installation of chairs from the collection seemed a way to address those two goals.

For the first time in the history of the Museum, two galleries on the third floor are dedicated to presenting a wide range of Native American Art. The Danforth Gallery showcases the power and beauty of Art of the Great Plains from the turn of the Century, and Gallery 323 holds important works within our permanent collection and from prominent St. Louis collections, including a rare Diné (Navajo) First Phase Chief Blanket and a hide painting that depicts the Battle of Little Bighorn.

At its height in the second century AD, the Roman Empire spanned more than forty modern countries stretching from England to Egypt and from Spain to Syria. The objects on view in the new Roman Art and Architecture gallery come from sites throughout the Empire, which was as dynamic and culturally diverse as it was large. In their original context, many of these objects were not classified as "art." They were largely practical and used in a variety of contexts: daily life, religious ceremonies, and the built environment. The enduring influence of Roman civilization is reflected throughout the Museum – our very own Sculpture Hall is based on the main hall of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome – and beyond, from the use of one of the most common building materials, concrete, to our system of government.

The African installation was conceptualized by William Siegmann, who was the Museum's consulting curator for African art from 2009 until his death in 2011. Associate Curator Matthew Robb oversaw the project.

"Working with such an esteemed expert in African art was a tremendous experience. It's exciting to be able to present the African collection in newly renovated, more spacious galleries; now we can really give these objects room, and allow our visitors to see more than ever before. This installation demonstrates the broader impact of the expansion by showcasing our ability to re-present the permanent collection."

These galleries expand the display of the Museum's Asian collection to include fine examples of the arts of Japan, Korea, South Asia, and the Himalayas. We have also included a gallery of porcelains that were made in China and Japan for export to Europe and North America.

Join Jill Ahlberg-Yohe, Mellon Fellow in Native American Art, for a lively and informative discussion.

Family Sundays

Bring the whole family to the Saint Louis Art Museum for free, art-inspired fun!Family Tour leaves at 2:30 pm.You're invited to the Museum every Sunday afternoon for hands-on art activities and a lively 30-minute family tour through the galleries. Each month's activities focus on a different, family-friendly theme.

Family Sundays are sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors.

Modern MasterpiecesJuly 7, 14, 21, and 281:00 – 4:00 pm

Show your love for modern and contemporary art on Sundays in July! Each week will feature an art project based on the works in our newly expanded 20th and 21st century galleries. Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, and Joan Mitchell will all be featured in this month-long love letter to modern and contemporary art. Families are also invited to take a guided tour of our new East Building.

It's Greek to MeAugust 4, 11, 18, and 251:00 – 4:00 pm

Drop by the Museum on Sundays in August to explore the legends and lore of ancient Greece. Be transported back to a time of gods and goddesses with a month of art projects and tours inspired by our collection of ancient Greek artwork.

Ancient AmericasSeptember 1, 8, 15, 22, and 291:00 – 4:00 pm

Explore the worlds of some of the people who inhabited Ancient America. Learn about powerful empires that ruled the western hemisphere and participate in art activities and tours throughout the Museum's expansive Ancient Americas galleries.

Family Workshops

Join us Saturday mornings to look at and make amazing art. Each of these kid-centered workshops combines a playful visit to the galleries with an art activity. Adults participate and create along with the children—no experience necessary.

Fee: $10 per person, per workshop ($8 Members)Please pre-register for the the workshops.

Family Workshop for 3 & 4 Year OldsSaturday, July 13, 10:30–11:30 am

Pop PortraitsPaint portraits in the style of Pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Take a guided tour of the Museum's new Pop Art gallery and then return to the classrooms to produce a portrait that goes pop!

Lecture

The Donald J. Danforth Annual Lecture: The Cosmopolitan World of Northern Plains Indian Art: 1750-1850Thursday, September 26, 6:30 pmSpeaker: Janet Berlo, Professor of Art History/Visual and Cultural Studies, University of Rochester, New York

We customarily think of the time period before the Reservation era as "traditional" in the lives of Plains Indian peoples. This lecture will demonstrate that, by the late 18th century, people of the Northern Plains had already incorporated numerous items of global manufacture into their own aesthetic system of dress and adornment. In reformulating our understanding of Plains peoples and their lives during this era, we bring them into a global conversation, rather than isolating them on the margins of culture.

Using images painted by Karl Bodmer, George Catlin, and others, as well as objects made by Plains Indian artists, speaker Janet Berlo will trace the numerous connections that linked the Upper Missouri River area with St. Louis, Philadelphia, New York, London, Venice, and even China.

About the Speaker:

Janet Catherine Berlo, Ph.D., is Professor of Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester in New York. A consultant to the publication on the Danforth Collection at the Saint Louis Art Museum (to be released in 2015), she has also written and co-written numerous catalogues, books, and articles on Native North American art, including Spirit Beings and Sun Dancers (Braziller, 2002), Native North American Art (Oxford, 1998, with Ruth Phillips), The Early Years of Native American Art History (U. Washington Press, 1992), Plains Indian Drawings 1865-1935: Pages from a Visual History (Abrams, 1996) and Arthur Amiotte: Collage Series 1988-2006 (Wheelwright Museum, 2006).

Janet Berlo earned her Ph.D. in the History of Art at Yale in 1980. She has taught Native American art history as a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and UCLA, and has received grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Getty Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.